Apparatus fob



c. CGNOVER. h APPARMUS FOB BRINGENG ABOUT AND CONTROLLING REACTIONS BEIWEEN GASES.

APFUCATION FILED APR. 30, IBIS. 1,324,443. Patented Dec. 9,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

C. CONOVER.

APPARATUS FOR BBINGlNG ABOUT AND CONTROLLING REACTIONS BETWEEN GASES.

' APPLICATION FILED APR. 30. m9.

1,324,443. Patented Dec. 9,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

$0 amwwtoz 0. Geneva. 1 AIPMM'IUS FOB BRINGING ABOUT AND CONTROLLING REACTIONS BETWEEN GASES.

APFLICATWN FILED APR. 30, I919- ammwiioz COURTNEY GONOVER, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR BRINGING ABOUT AND CONTROLLING REACTIONS BETWEEN GASES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 30, 1919. Serial No. 298,788.

(FILED UNDER THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1883, 22 STAT. L, 625.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, COURTNEY CoNovnn, a. citizen of the United States of America, and an employee of the Department of Agriculture, residin in the city of Philadelphia, county of P iladelphia, State of Pennsylvania, (whose post-office address is Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. (1,) have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Bringing About and Controlling Reactions Between Gases, of which the following is a specification.

This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, chapter 143 (22 Stat, 625), and the invention herein described and claimed may be used by the Government of the United States or any of its oflicers or employees in the prosecution of work for the Government, and any person in the United States, without payment to me of an royalty thereon.

y invention relates to apparatus in which reactions between gases may be brought about, especiall those reactions which are induced by cata ysts and in which heat is generated.

The object of my invention is to provide a form of apparatus in which reactions between gases may be brought about, which apparatus shall be an Improvement over existing forms in the followin respects: Provision is made for kee ing t e top and sides of the reaction cham are from becoming heated above a determined temperature; provision is also made for keeping the floor of the reaction chamber from becoming heated above a determined temperature, which temperature may be different from that of the top and walls if desired; construction of the apparatus is simplified by building it from a number of interchangeable umts; provision is made for utilizing the heat evolved in the reaction between ases for heating the incoming gases sufciently to start reaction.

One form of the apparatus is shown in the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a section through the apparatus from front to rear. Fi 2 is a cross section of one of the units 0 which the main art of the apparatus is built up. Fig. 3

,15 a section of the end of a unit with connections for circulation of coolm liquids. Fig. 4 and Fig. 7 are elevations o the end of a unit showing connections, while Fig. 5 1s a plan view of the same parts. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of several units assembled as for operation but without connections for cooling liquids.

The apparatus is to be constructed of maternal, preferably a metal, which will conduct heat readily and will not be corroded by the reacting gases.

The main part of the apparatus is built of interchangeable units, each unit consisting of a reaction chamber set in a jacket which is divided horizontally into two comartments for containing cooling 1i uids.

be general structure of the unit is s own in Fig. 2, the reaction chamber B being surrounded above and below and partiall at the ends by compartments A and C. eat insulating material may be placed between these compartments to prevent interchange of heat. The reaction chamber, B, and compartment A may be supported on pillars, W,

Patented Dec. 9, 191 9 from the floor of compartment C; and the roof of B may be strengthened by ribs T, (Fig. 1). Compartment 0 extends sidewise beyond compartment A so as to rovide room at each end for outlet and in ct connections for the circulation of liquids.

In Fig. 1 several units are shown assembled. The reaction chambers are indicated by B. A and C are compartments for contaimng liquids which will absorb the heat formed in the reaction between gases and by boiling will automatically keep the floors and roofs of the reaction chambers at desired temperatures. R is a distributing chamber from which the gases which are to react flowinto the reaction chambers, B, through narrow openin in thefront walls, P, of the reaction cham ers. In Fig. "6 also, a front view is shown of several units assembled but without connections for cooling liquid. The distributing chamber R is shown in section with a double wall for steam or hot liquid so it may be kept at a desired tem erature. In this figure the front walls, of the reaction chambers are shown in the general view and in the inset.

The system for supplying liquids to the cooling compartments and ram? oif the hot liquid or vapor is shown in igs. 3, 4, 5, and 7. The cool liquids for all of the compartments, A and O, are supplied respectively from manifolds K and M (Fig.

5). The liquids enter both ends of each compartment through one or more 0 emn near the bottom an in. the rear hal of t e compartment and the hot liquids or va ore coming from each compartment are le 01f through one or more 0 enmgs from the top and in the front half 0 the compartment.

It is essential that the outlets for the hot liquids or vapors should be out of or flush with the to of the compartment in order that there shall be no trapping of vapor in the top of the compartment.

The hot liquids or vapors from a number of units are received in manifolds such as J and L, (Fig. 3) and rise into condensers and coolers not shown in the drawings, from which the cool liquids are returned to reservoirs to which the manifolds K and M are connected.

The level of the liquids in the manifolds must always be somewhat higher than the top of the highest compartment, so that the compartments shall be full at all times.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: An apparatus consisting of several units as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, is heated by any suitable means until a temperature is reached which will start reaction between the gases which are to be introduced. These uses are then forced under some pressure into a distributing chamber, R, through severnl openings such as S The gases enter the reaction chambers B through small apertures in the front walls, P, ofthe reaction chambers. Since the gases in R are under pressure they flow through the small apertures so as to be distributed uniformly across each reaction chamber if the apertures are uniform in diameter. The apertures for difl'erent reaction chambers may be made of difierent size so as to oil-set any difference in pressure in difierent parts of the chamber, R, due to the tendency of the hot ases to rise. On the floor of thechambers, a catalyst is placed, in the presence of which the gases react after being heated to a certain temperature which de ends upon the nature of the gases and of t e catalyst. The heat evolved in the reaction is absorbed to a great extent by the'h uids in the compartments A and O. T ese liquids are mixed by convection currents or by bolling, hence they serve to convey heat from the middle and rear of the reaction chambers where it is mainly generated to the front, where heat is needed to raise the temperature of the incoming gases to the point at which reaction begins.

Since it is desirable to have all reaction chambers operating under the same conditions the front-portion of the lowest coolmg compartment may be heated from an outside source.

After reaction the gases flow outof the chambers, B, into a receiver or condenser fitted onto the rear of the apparatus and not shown in the drawing.

I laving thus described my invention I claim:

1 An apparatus, substantially as described, for ringing about and controllin reactions between gases, which consists 0 reaction chambers in which the tern erature is controlled by. the circulation a'n boilin of liquid in jackets of the chambers an in which the gases are heated by the same liquid; and which reaction chambers are connected to a common supply chamber by means of openings so restricted that the ases from the supp y chamber are equally istributed to the separate reaction chambers and uniformly distributed across the breadth of each chamber.

2. In an apparatus for bringing about and controlling reactions between ases, the combination of a reaction cham or connected with a supply chamber by means of openings so restricted that by placing the gases in the supply chamber under suflicient pressure the are distributed uniformly across the readth of the reaction chamber.

3. In an apparatus for bringing about and controllin reactions between gases, the combination 0 reaction chambers with adjacent compartments containin a liquid, which liquid by circulating and oiling will "keep the gases 111 the reaction chambers from becpmin heated above a desired point, and which liquid will convey heat to the cooler parts of the reaction chambers and supply eat to the g es there.

4. In an. a aratus; for bringing about and controllin reactions between gases, the

combination o reaction chambers. with compartments both above and below. containing difierent' liquids, which liquids by circulate ing and boiling will keep the floors and roofs of the reaction chambers at different temperatures.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

COURTNEY GONOVER. Witnesses:

H. D. Glens,

L. A. Sxmnnn. 

